Attachment for bow instruments.



No. 881,769. PATENTED MAR, 10, 1908.

J Y; BROWN.- ATTACHMENT FOR- BOW INSTRUMENTS.

A ?JHQIOATION FILED SEPT; 26. 1906" witmww THE NORRIS PETERS co", WASHINGTON, 11c.

-ment.

UNITED STATES PATENT clarion.

JOHN YOUNG BROWN, 01' PROVIDENCE, KENTUCKY.

ATTACHMENT FOR BOW INSTRUMENTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN YOUNG BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Webster and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Attachment for Bow Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in vibratory attachments for how instruments.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of vibratory attachments for bow instruments, and to provide a simple, inexpensive and efficient sympathetic vibratory device adapted to greatly increase the power of a vlolin, or similar bow instrument, and capable of increasing the duration of tones and of improving the quality thereof.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination ,of parts hereinafter. fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and ointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the s irit or sacrificing any of the advantages of t 1e invention.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of 'a violin provided with a sympathetic vibrating device, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fi 1.

Tiike numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing.

1 designates a pedestal, designed to be constructed of hard wood, or other suitable material, and secured by glue or other suitable means to the inner face of the back of a violin 2, or other analogous bow instrument, and extending from the said back to and terminating short of the front 3 of the instru- The pedestal, which has an enlarged base 4, tapers towards its center, and is provided near its upper or free end with an opening 5, in which is mounted a transversely disposed support 6 for vibratory rods 7. The base 4 of the edestal 1 is arranged at the median line of tie back of the violin, or other instrument, and is provided at one corner Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 26, 1906.

Patented March 10, 1908.

Serial No. 336,313. I

with a recess 8, which receives the sound post 9 of the instrument, and the vibratory device is connected with the front of the body of the instrument by the said sound post 9. The su port 6, which is arranged transversely o the body of the instrument, ex: tends laterally from the opposite sides of the pedestal, and it is constructed of bone, ivory, and is preferably or pieces 10 and 11.

or other hard material, composed of two bars The lower bar or piece grooves 12 intermediately supported and which extend in advance andin rear of the transverse sup port to form longitudinal vibratory members. The upper-bar or piece to the lower bar or piece 11 by means of suitable bolts 13, having heads at their lower ends and provided at their upper ends with clamping nuts. Washers 15 are preferably interposed between the heads of the bolts, and the lower bar or piece 11, and the thumb nuts .14 are provided Any other form of bolt, however, employed. 7

The rods, which are constructed of hard steel, or other'suitable material are preferably continuous, and when continuous, are four in number to provide eight vibratory members, in two sets of four each extending 11 is provided with may be in advance and in rear of the supporting to receivethe rods 7, which are with milled edges.

10 is rigidly secured they are tuned to give an octave, one of the 7 notes of which is in unison with an open string of the instrument. For instance, the device may be in the pitch of C and the vibratory members may be tuned to correspond to the notes or tones of an octave below middle C. The left hand vibratory member of the'set in advance of the supporting means Would then be tuned to correspond to C, the lowest note, of said octave. The second vibratory member would be 1) the third vibratory member would be E, and the fourth F, the vibratory members bein I diminished in length from left to right. The eft hand vibratory member of the set in rear of the supporting means would be G, the second A, the third B and the fourth O. The device may be in any other pitch, and the vibratory members will .lelism with the major axis of placed on its back and the needles are intro- -1nstrument and'extended in advance and-in be tuned accordingly. It does not matter whether the vibratory members are keyed one or more octaves above or below the strings, as they will respond to the latter and will greatly increase the power of the instrument, and improve the quality and increase the duration of tones. In order to obtain the best result possible, the rods should extend in the same general direction as the strings, or rather, in parallelism with the major axis of the body of the instrument, with the cluster of rods, as a whole, at the center of the instrument. Experience has demonstrated that while reasonably fair results can be obtained by arranging the sympathetic device crosswise, or at an angle to the major axis of the body of the instrument, the results are decidedly better when the rods are arranged lengthwise. The sympathetic vibratory device is connected with the body of the instrument only at the point of attachment of the base of the pedestal, with the back of the body of the instrument so as not to interfere with the vibrations of the back, and it is spaced from the front and sides of the instrument. Should the sympathetic vibratory device become detached, it may be readily replaced without removing any part of the violin, or other instrument. This may be effected by means of two large needles about 5 or 6 inches in length, and a delicate brush having a handle 5 or 6 inches in length and of a size to be introduced through the f holes of the instrument. The violin is members, said members being tuned to give an octave.

3. The combination with a bow instrument, of a sympathetic vibratory device comprisinga plurality of rods supported intermediate of their ends and varying in length and tuned to give an octave.

4. The combination with a bow instrument, of a sym athetic vibratory device comprising a pedbstal, a support extending laterally from the pedestal, and vibratory means extending in opposite directions from the su port and tuned to give an octave.

5. 'l iie combination with a bow instrument, of a sympathetic vibratory device comprising a pedestal, a support mounted on the pedestal and extending from opposite sides thereof, and a plurality of rods mounted between their ends on the su port and forming 0 posite vibratory memiiers, said members eing tuned to give an octave.

6. The combination with a bow instrument, of a sympathetic vibratory device comprising a pedestal, a support mounted on and projecting from opposite sides of the pedestal and composed of sections, and

and tuned to give an octave.

7. The combination with a bow instrument, of a sympathetic vibratory device from opposite sides of the pedestal and comosed of sections, vibratory rods arranged )etween the sections and tuned to give an octave, and clamping devices connecting the sections and holding the same rigidly in engagement with the rods.

8. The combination with a bow instrument, of a sympathetic vibratory device comprising a wooden pedestal, a support of hard non-metallic material extending from opposite sides of the pedestal, and a plurality of metallic vibratory rods mounted on the support and tuned to give an octave.

9. The combination with a bow instrument having a sound post, of a sympathetic vibratory device comprising. a pedestal located within and secured to the back of the instrument and having a recess to receive ment, of a sympathetic vibratory device the sound ost, a support extending from, comprising supporting means, and a pluralopposite sid es of the pedestal, and vibratory ity of .vibratory members arranged in paralmembers projecting from .the support and the body of the tuned to give an octave.

i j In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto atlixed my signai l duced into the f holes, and the device is turned on one side, and is held by the needles while glue, or other adhesive material is applied to the base of the pedestal and to the ini ner face of the back of the. instrument by means of the brush. The device is then moved to the proper place by means of the needles, the sound post forming a stop or 1 guide for the proper positioning of the device.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a bow instruto secure by rear of the supporting means and tuned to give an octave.

2. The combination with a bow instrument, of a sympathetic vibratory device ari ranged within the instrument and comprisi ing a plurality of rods supported intermediate of their ends and forming vibratory 1 ture in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN YOUNG BROWN.

Witnesses:

, GEORGE WILsoN, W. T. JorrNsoN.

vibratory rods clamped between the sections comprising a pedestal, a support extending 

